Guanacaste Hospitals Join
‘Safe Surgery’ Program
(InfoWebPress) – With the goal of reducing complications at
operating rooms, the 29 hospitals run by the Costa Rican Social
Security System (CCSS) throughout the country have joined the “Safe
Surgery Saves Lives” program promoted by the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)
Cartago’s Max Peralta joined the initiative last Feb. 13, and on
Feb. 17 the Chorotega (Guanacaste and northern Alajuela cantons)
Region main health centers — Nicoya’s La Anexion Hospital, Liberia’s
Enrique Baltodano Briceño Hospital and the Upala Hospital — also
came on board.
Dr. Luis Fernando Ortega Canales, medical services director for the
Chorotega Region, highlighted that the region’s three hospitals have
organization support for joining this working strategy that seeks to
benefit patients.
Ortega Canales explained that this week there will be an important
work session aimed at educating personnel working on those three
hospitals about the importance of adhering to the “safe surgery”
initiative.
Dr. Orlando Urroz Torres, coordinator of the program, said CCSS’
goal is that its 29 hospitals will be actively involved in the
international initiative within the next three months.
OMS hopes that this program will help reduce by 50 percent the
incidence of surgical complications through the incorporation of
good practices that would slash the possibilities for mistakes.
According to Dr. Federico Hernandez, WHO advisor in health services
systems, the organization’s goal is to have all 29 Latin American
countries join the program — but acknowledge that so far only
Argentina, Peru and Costa Rica have done so.
Urroz Torres said that this program can be implemented quite easily
and that it doesn’t require additional resources — as it consists in
changing operating room personnel’s attitudes so that communication
can improve among the surgeons, anesthesiologists and instrument
handlers.
The idea is that surgery professionals would verify a series of
steps that should be taken into consideration at three crucial
moments: before the patient is given anesthesia, before the surgical
incision, and before the patient leaves the operating room.
For Urroz Torres, this verification process is very important, as it
benefits all parties involved in a surgery: the patient, the medical
professionals, and the overall health system.
Dr. Victor Navarrete Acosta, director of the Max Peralta Hospital,
expressed his satisfaction for the health center’s incorporation
into the new program, saying that his personnel is very motivated to
participate and improve surgery procedures.
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